where is the slattern thread?

[twonker]

calling any fellow slatterns, please point me in the direction of your thread! i am looking for the company of those who really struggle with procrastination, and a blindness towards mess and junk.... please help me open my eyes!!!

[twonker]

Hi jing, have a great trip.

Hello everyone else. I am afraid I have been feeling rather overwhelmed by the scale of the problem over the past couple of days. However, I have got on cheerily with the essential meal production related jobs and had a certain amount of fun with my family. Tomorrow is another day. [grimace] hope you have all been feeling good about achievements big and small.

[Slatternismymiddlename]

Twonker, sorry that you are feeling overwhelmed, as said above I think it's best to look at the mass of work to do as one step at a time. If I think about everything that I have to do I get so despondent I head for the kettle and another cup of tea, which achieves nothing.

Today I walked into DD's room, looked around at what to do and ended up walking out of the room without doing anything! I went out for a few hours came back and felt more motivated. Two hours of ironing done .

[twonker]

slattern thank you. you are so right. Journey of 1000 miles and whatnot. I have been feeling a bit down the last few days, and now I have cheered up a bit it has made me thankful that I am not constantly struggling with depression, as it must be so hard to maintain motivation to keep plodding on if you are really depressed.

So big hugs to everyone struggling for what ever reason with chipping away at the rock face!

[AGlassHalfEmptyNoLonger]

HI everyone

I have been quiet for a few days, I know, but it has been an extremely productive quiet . Well done everyone for whatever they have done, big or small this past week.

twonker at my worst my lists have been similar to:
Sort dirty washing into piles

Sort dirty washing into piles
Put load of washing on

Sort dirty washing into piles
Put load of washing on
Put washing into dryer
Stack dirty dishes neatly, scrap food into bin

Sort dirty washing into piles
Put load of washing on
Put washing into dryer
Stack dirty dishes neatly, scrap food into bin
Do one load of washing up

And so on. By the end of the day, or however long I work at it for, I get a fair amount done. And on my very worst days, it has even included getting showered, doing my teeth, eating a meal. Because they are all accomplishments.

All:
Another tactic I have used, when a room is really getting too much for me, is to put a timer on for 10 or 15 minutes, and I go into the room and work until the timer goes off. Then I go for a cuppa, or 10 minutes (timed) on the computer, or whatever. And repeat it several times over. When you get to the end of your first 15 minutes, you notice what you have done and realise it isnt as bad as you thought.

Or if watching the tv, when the ads come on, see what you can do before the ads finish. You only have a couple of minutes, but it can be surprising what you can do in those minutes.

If sorting a room out, dont just move everything into another room - it really doesnt solve the problem, cos then you just end up not coping with that room at all, keep shoving stuff in it to be sorted, and it becomes a black hole that is constantly nagging at you, and really does drive your mental state down, cos it is there and needs sorting, but you cant face sorting it. I suggest going round with a number of boxes or bags. One for stuff to be binned. One for stuff to be sold/given to charity shop/whatever (too good to bin, but not keeping) - make sure this gets disposed of ASAP, or if keeping to do a carboot, have an area you can stack the boxes when they are full. Also have a box per bedroom, and one for other rooms. Start in one corner, set a timer, and work solidly putting items in the relevant box. When the timer is up, go and put the stuff in all but the bin and to go boxes away. Have a break. Then go back to it (or repeat the next day, whatever works). It breaks it into managable chunks, and you are actually dealing with the mess/clutter, not shifting it from one space to another.

Nigglenaggle Why not take one box into another room and just sort that one box? A box a day, or 10 minutes sorting out clothes on an armchair, will work through it quicker than you may think

Jing Congrats on the move . Enjoy your two weeks over here, hope the weather is reasonable.

Slattern, Bea, and everyone else I think I've kinda given my take on everything mentioned above, but didnt want to miss you out

Yes, everything I have said is from long experience and much learning about what works, FOR ME! They may not help, but I hope they do

Just remember, do jobs an inch at a time, cos an inch is achievable, a mile is impossible.

[Nigglenaggle]

Ooh! I like the timer idea actually! Especially with a reward at the end of the timing.....

[AGlassHalfEmptyNoLonger]

The reward is essential. Things are so much easier if you get a reward

[Slatternismymiddlename]

Hello all fellow slatterns, or as I like to think of us - those that are domestically challenged/ easily distracted/ have better things to do than clean . Sounds like progress is being made all round.

I had a rubbish day at work today and there was not a hope of me getting anything done this evening. I was therefor very pleased to arrive home and dh had cleaned all the floors. No sorting or organising done but at least the day was not a total write off.

One step at a time!

[twonker]

Yes! I want rewards. I need to think of rewards that are not food related though.... I think it is a great idea to time the reward too. and also to recognise that some days are high motivation and others are low motivation, and have a different scale of list for each day.

Hoovered yesterday, cut lawn today, going to tackle my bugbear paperwork tomorrow as its back to work on. Thurs. I have enjoyed pottering about with the kids, going to the swimming pool, popping to the local shops together.

I feel like we have spent some good time together and I have really enjoyed being with them. When it's school and work, there so much "get up kids, brush your teeth kids, right I'm doing your hair now come on let's go we're going to be late for school. Come on kids lets get home now right I've got to make you tea now right it's bedtime now go and get your jarmies on" grrrr.

Hope you are all enjoying the summer holidays too.

[AdoraBell]

Hello

Can I just say, Comrade I feel your pain. We too may be changing countries and swapping a huge house for a more sensible size. I'm tempted to just chuck everything. We don't have a company behind us so after shipping our belongings here OH then managed to fill another 20 foot container , we've given away clothes, furniture and white goods, would it be so wrong of me to have a bonfire...

[twonker]

Evening.
slattern I hope work was better today, and that you are feeling good about what you have managed to do today.

Adorabell welcome! Sounds like you have a massive declutter ing project to do. I have spend a long time dreaming of a bigger house. . Perhaps I should be content with the house we have!

The last day of my holiday today back to work tomorrow. Not a very motivated day today, but managed to cook something nice, do lots of laundry and dig a bit of the garden.

a glass, trazzle, stan, comrade, bea, Bertie, niggle,
Hope all of you are managing to figure out what needs to be done today, and do it! If so,a is deserved.

[Nigglenaggle]

in progress here! But unfortunately not much else.....

[Slatternismymiddlename]

Hello fellow slatterns.

Twonker - hope first day back at work wasn't too bad. A friend said to me, 'the first day is just about getting through', advice I have taken to heart ever since.

I did the grocery shop today but not much else. Will have to hit the ironing mountain tonight and try to make it just a hill. The only good thing is I get to watch tv whilst doing it. I wonder what reward I can think of........

[twonker]

Hi slattern,

Thanks for your post, I think it's a great philosophy for every day!

My boss threw a few hurdles at me and I didn't rant at him like usual, but told him where I'd like them to be placed, and believe it or not, he got off his arse and moved them!

Came home to a lovely dinner and happy family, so all things considered a good day.

Must tackle to paperwork tomorrow. . . Reward? Going to have to be some fairly serious cake....black forest gateau?

[AGlassHalfEmptyNoLonger]

Hi all

Looks like some good days have been had :) Rewards for ironing, hmm, not sure - my iron only sees the light of day when it is seriously needed

My reward at the moment is more housework, oddly enough. When my auntie came down last weekend, she helped me move around the bedrooms, meaning all the furniture is in the right place, but everything else is in boxes. She also helped me get on top of the downstairs. So my task is to keep on top of, and finish, the downstairs. My reward is to unpack and sort out my bedroom.

Non food rewards though - a chapter of your favourite book, an episode of your favourite program, a game on the computer, a snuggle with your partner/child, a long hot soak in the bath, a chat on the phone with a friend. Am sure there are others, these are just off the top of my head. (mind you, food rewards are good as well :) )

[Slatternismymiddlename]

Twonker - how did the paperwork sorting go?

AGlass - can I borrow your aunt? She sounds ace!

Yesterday didn't get any housework done but on a bit of a roll today. I'm determined to have a day off tomorrow, so willing to pay price today.

Good luck to all fellow slatterns out there. Just enjoy thinking about the reward. In my case tonight.

[Nigglenaggle]

Hmm had a sudden burst of energy this morning while DC had his nap. May have been counter productive though as am knacked now!

[twonker]

Hi slatterns
A glass- supportive and understanding family and friends can be so helpful. Last year, I mentioned to a new friend that I was doing the kids bedroom, and she volunteered to help me with the floor. This meant that a had to get all the furniture out of the room and be ready to start the floor by the time she was due to come round. It would have been so easy to put it off and put it off if I hadn't had that deadline. I am so grateful to her.

Internal deadlines are hopeless for me though.

I have posted off one form, need to do another one and re-enrol the dc at their music school, so slow progress on the paperwork.

I like the reward ideas so far, and I think niggle and slattern will be enjoying well deserved ones today!

Right I'm going to juggle some boxes now!

[Slatternismymiddlename]

I did a fair bit of tidying on Saturday and could actually notice the difference for the first time in a long time. It was quite motivating.

Spent Sunday morning ironing but did have a good afternoon with the dcs and enjoyed a nice in the evening.

Have been out of the house all day today so hopefully haven't made too much mess. Back to work tomorrow, that is when things usually go to pot.

[Nigglenaggle]

With the help of Grandma taking DC for a while the chairs are moved and a box is gone through. The room still looks pretty scary so have to ignore it again for a while, but bet when we next tackle it we can get it pretty spanking clean (by our standards that is which are pretty darn low!)

[Slatternismymiddlename]

Hello everyone. As I suspected, 2 days at work and the place looks tatty. Im off for a few days now so hopefully will get a handle on it. The ironic thing is that I have offered to help my friend do a big clear out, something I can't do or myself.

Tonight the sky plus is getting a clear out as I am shattered. all round.

[Twonker]

Hi everybody!

Sorry been quiet a few days, just been procrastinating in quiet way!

Slattern: are you now back to work? How is it going? The week is so full. . . Where do we find time to sort out all the stuff that has to happen each day, as well as the random stuff that plops onto the doormat on an annoyingly regular basis!

The dc are already struggling with punctuality at school. . . I think I need to see if ther is a punctuality support thread going anywheres!

Bertie boots I hope you found the key! I feel your

Niggle naggle, my friend calls her spare room the room of horror I think the only thing to do is to clear a parking space in another room, and get the boxes/ bags out one at a time, and deal with them in a place where you have space to do so.

A glass hope your major strides forward are holding up

I actually decided to do some DIY at the bank holiday.... Which is unfinished... And I still have box juggling and paperwork to do as a priority. Job for weekend: prioritise!

Hope everyone else has found the back to school thing ok

[Slatternismymiddlename]

Hi Twonker - lovely to hear from you.

I had been back to work but took a few days off to get kids settled into school, which went really well. I used some of the time to do some serious tidying - a visitor even noticed the other day that things were a bit different.

I am determined to turn over a new leaf before Christmas, and all it brings with it, descends on us.

A small thing I heard somewhere - make a bed and the whole bedroom looks instantly tidier. It works. A vacuum helps too! (is this the time to confess that I only learned how to use the vacuum cleaner last month despite the fact I've had my own house for 15 years?)

[Twonker]

Hi slattern... Sounds like good time planning really is crucial. It is great to recognise when it's more important to take time off, and that's something you learn from experience. Last year I used all my holiday on half terms, Easter and Xmas, and had none during the summer holidays. It was a real mistake: such a missed opportunity to have fun With the kids while they are deschooled!
This year I didn't have any holiday between new year and end of July, and again that was a mistake: I was soooo exhausted and stressed.

I am looking for a way to keep my motivation up, and to keep me focussed on my priorities.

I do hope you find the path to Xmas clear and satisfying!

Best wishes to everyone else too

TWONK

[Twonker]

P.s., it's great when a stranger notices a difference, isn't it! Fire up your motivation no end

[Nigglenaggle]

hehe well funny you should mention that, when visitors arrive we normally go with the 'sorry we didnt get time to clean' route.... even if both of us have been slogging our guts out for four hours.... its just better that way!